The Massachusetts Gaming Commission unanimously approved a regulation Thursday requiring sportsbooks to notify bettors within 48 hours of limiting their account. And what came next was a remarkably detailed set of enforcement guidelines that amount to one of the most aggressive consumer-protection moves in U.S. sports betting.
The regulation, which goes into effect June 1 pending waiver requests from operators, makes Massachusetts the first state in the nation to formally regulate the practice of limiting the amounts customers are permitted to wager. But the vote itself was only half the story. During the commission meeting, staff led by Chief Deputy General Counsel Justin Stempeck laid out a series of details that were discussed and approved by the five commissioners, creating a framework that goes well beyond simply telling bettors they’ve been limited.
Here is what the commission agreed to: Sportsbooks will have 48 hours from the time they limit a bettor to the time notification goes out. That notification cannot be boilerplate. The commission made clear that a generic explanation like “due to a business decision” will not be acceptable. The regulation requires a specific explanation, and during the meeting, Stempeck said flatly that a two-word phrase that doesn’t give a patron any detail about why they were limited would not be sufficient.
Carrie Torrisi, the sports wagering division chief, confirmed that her team would review the actual communications going to limited bettors to ensure they meet the standard.
Each time a bettor is further limited, a new notification with a new explanation must be sent. If a bettor’s limit drops from $75 to $50, they get an email. If it then goes to $25, they get another one. This applies across all markets.
The regulation will also be applied retroactively. If a bettor was limited two years ago, the sportsbook is required to send them a notification now explaining their current limit.
Actively retroactive
Commissioner Bradford Hill said he liked the retroactive provision because it forces operators to review where they currently stand on limits, noting operators themselves had argued the number of limited patrons was small enough to make such an analysis manageable.
If a bettor is limited in another state and that limit follows them into Massachusetts, the sportsbook must still send a notification. Limited in the Commonwealth means adhering to Massachusetts regulations, regardless of where the limit originated.
All notifications must be retained by sportsbooks. The commission’s sports wagering division plans to audit those records to verify compliance. The commission also indicated it may conduct a public review after the regulation takes effect to assess whether operators are providing genuinely specific explanations or trying to skirt the requirement.
Commissioner Paul Brodeur made clear the commission is watching closely. He described one operator’s suggested alternative, that telling limited bettors it was simply “due to a business decision,” as “kind of offensive.”
Brodeur continued: “What’s kind of hanging over this a little bit is this is a good-faith attempt to work with the operators to do something in service of a particular goal. That goal is transparency. Does the customer understand what’s going on in their account?”
Jordan Maynard, the chair of the commission, echoed that sentiment, saying the commission would be able to gauge compliance quickly.
“We’ll know pretty quickly who’s making good faith efforts and what, if any, tweaks we need to make to this to accomplish that transparency goal,” Maynard said.
